Bishop-LORD INCREASE OUR FAITH.Pdf

TABLE of CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. THE MYSTERY OF FAITH 3

SURPRISED BY FAITH

FAITH: THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME

LIVING BY FAITH

THE CONTENT OF FAITH

2. MATURE DISCIPLESHIP 15

CALLED TO COMMUNITY

CALLED TO LOVE IN SERVICE

CALLED TO SACRIFICE

CALLED TO RESPOND

3. LIVING THE MYSTERY 24

THE LIFE OF FAITH

MARY MODEL OF FAITH

EPILOGUE: HERE I STAND

4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH 29

To view a reading of this Pastoral Letter please search YouTube or Google for: “Bishop Jason Gordon Lord Increase Our Faith” it is broken into three parts.

1 INTRODUCTION

“Lord, increase our faith” (Lk: 17:5), this is the cry of the disciples when confronted with a tough lesson from Jesus on forgiveness and scandal. This is our cry when faced with the challenge of being disciples for Christ in the Caribbean today. It may seem that this challenge is beyond our means, resources and for many of us our imagination. The challenges with which we are faced are at all levels, the family, school, parish and wider society.

In our families, schools and parishes we appear no longer to know how to lead ourselves or the next generation towards mature discipleship in Christ. In families where parents are devout Catholics, many children no longer practice the faith. Schools that have a great reputation for academic excellence have recognized that many of today’s students are not living by the standards of excellence that the school has held for a generation or more. The parish that used to be a meeting place for Eucharist and religious formation has lost its prominence; many Catho- lics no longer practice their faith by participating in the Sunday Eucharist.

Today we are faced with new challenges. With all the modern means of commu- nication bombarding us, it has become difficult to hear and receive the Word of God. As we face these challenges we hear the reassurance of Blessed John Paul as he reminds us of God’s constant refrain; “Be not afraid”. His call to the Church to launch out into the deep was a prophetic call to re-engage the mission by allowing the Lord to lead us where we would rather not go. Now one decade later, with the New Evangelization in sharp focus by the Bishops in Synod (2012), our Holy Father Pope Benedict is launching the Year of Faith in preparation for the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict XVI has said that the New Evangelization needs to speak to the heart of the people of this generation.

I invite you to use this year of faith declared by the Holy Father to make a conscious decision for the faith; to study and live the faith as set out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that was handed on to us from Jesus to the Apostles to our present generation.

I have written this pastoral letter for the Year of Faith which seeks to propose the message of Christ and His Church to the peoples of Barbados, and of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as we seek to respond to Christ’s call of forming mature disciples. I urge you to read it and to ponder upon its content. I would like families, groups within the parishes, and all Church groups to discuss the letter. This can be a great opportunity to deepen our faith and to find creative ways to hand it onto the next generation.

2 1. THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

SURPRISED BY FAITH

When last were you genuinely surprised, completely taken off guard by life or by your friends? How did it feel? Was it a good surprise or one that left you perplexed, sad or shocked? To be open to faith we need to be open to surprise, open to the mystery that life is, open to the unexpected which will become part and parcel of our day. We have become so accustomed to being in full control of our lives. Faith requires us leaving control and safety behind as we journey to Christ in faithful discipleship.

To be surprised you have to wonder. You have to be capable of admiration for the beautiful, the unexpected, the unfamiliar and the unexplainable. In his classic work “The Little Prince,” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry explores this theme as the Little Prince who comes from a small planet with one rose tree and many sunsets in an hour is surprised by the strange and unexpected ways of the adults of Earth. He says: “Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves and it is tiresome for children to always and forever explain things for them. Speaking to the fox he says:

“People where you live, grow five thousand roses in one garden...

yet they don’t find what they’re looking for...

They don’t find it,” I answered.

And yet what they’re looking for could be found in a single rose or a little water...”

“Of course,” I answered.

And the little prince added, “But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.”

We grown-ups have become tiresome; we have lost the sense of mystery, the ability to be surprised and to wonder. Yet we live continually in mystery, the mystery of the Universe, of our bodies, of our civilization. More fundamentally, the mystery of God who became flesh and dwelt amongst us. These mysteries can only be seen by the heart. So we turn to the loving embrace of Mary who pondered the mystery in her heart asking her to inter- cede for us as we seek to open our hearts to be surprised by faith.

3 In their filmThe Journey of the Universe, Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker explore the mystery of the world in which we live. If at its beginnings the universe expanded one millionth of a percent slower it would have collapsed back into itself. If however it expanded one millionth of a percent faster it would have pulled apart and exploded. The universe is expanding at exactly the precise rate required to create a habitable space for intelligent life. To see the beauty, the vastness, the complexity and yet the simple elegance of the universe must leave us with awe and wonder, if we see it with the heart. Only the heart can respond to the words of William Blake:

To see a world in a grain of sand

And the heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.

Karl Rahner has described the modern inability to be surprised and to wonder at mystery as the “eclipse of Mystery”. Rahner uses the term “wintery season”! Modernity has forgotten the art of living in and with mystery, deep mystery. The meaning of life is being reduced to what can be concretely experienced, seen, or scientifically proven. Practical reason has become the highest good with efficiency becoming the core value of our civilization. In this late capitalist, materialist phase of Western civilization, the rap artist “50 cent” proclaims the creed: “Get rich or die trying.”

Pope Benedict in his Letter to Artists, 2009 says:

If we acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the Mystery of which we are part; from this Mystery we can draw fullness, happiness, and the passion to engage with it every day.

In Baptism we were initiated into mystery, we became Children of God, we were anointed with sacred chrism to be Prophets, Priests and Kings. We were set aside for nuptial union with God. In Confirmation we received the Holy Spirit the seven-fold gift of God – Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord, giving us both the gifts for mission and the fruits for sanctification. In the Eucharist we are fed on 4 the substance of God, the body and blood of Christ. We witness in each Mass the selfless offering of Christ to us and for our salvation and that of the world. We lack nothing!

The Second Vatican Council spoke of the Eucharist as the “source and summit of the whole Christian life (Lumen Gentium 11).” The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1324 commenting on this says:

The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life”. “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”

This statement is at the heart of our reflection on faith. As source, the Eu- charist is the point of beginning, the place from which Grace springs forth ever new. As summit it is the point to which the whole Christian life flows, the high peak to which we are all destined. The Eucharist is the Real Pres- ence of Christ, the pre-eminent sacrament, the one from which all others draws their inner meaning. It is the pre-eminent space for the encounter with Christ.

There are few commands that Christ has given us, among them, celebrating the Eucharist (Lk 22:19), making disciples (Mk 16:15ff), caring for those on the fringe (Mt 25:31-46) and taking Mary as Mother (Jn 19:26- 27). In the Gospel of John, Chapter 6, when challenged by people leaving him because of his teaching on the Eucharist, Jesus does not waver, nor change his teaching to make it more culturally acceptable. He stands his ground, holds firm to his teaching and asks Peter if he too will go (Jn 6:67). Peter’s answer is instructive: “Lord to whomever shall we go, you have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Peter does not understand; he has no more grasp of the teaching than those who left. What he has is faith in the person Jesus. This allows him to believe what Jesus says. We want to believe before we can have faith. It does not work that way. St. Anselm speaks to us about “faith seeking understanding”--we have faith so that we can understand.

As Catholics, we have the source and summit of the whole Christian life. Yet we choose to live as if we are in spiritual poverty. We choose to close our eyes and heart to the truth, to the mystery of God. Eucharist requires

5 faith! It is not always appealing or stimulating, but it is always the complete offering of Christ giving us his body and blood, his sacrifice on Cal- vary. No matter how appealing or unappealing, how stimulating or boring we may perceive it to be, it is always an offering of love. It is the highest expression of Love the human family has ever known.

If we truly believe this, then our liturgies could never be less than joyful celebrations involving all the senses, with music relevant to both the sa- credness of the rite and the cultural sensitivity of our people, with homilies that are well prepared that open God’s word for the faithful to reflect upon. The Mass when seen through the dimension of faith will always be vital and life-giving. It will be the high point of our week.

The Eucharist is the deepest and richest mystery that the world has ever experienced. It can only be seen by the heart. Unfortunately, many of our hearts - bishop, priests, deacons and laity may be in a “wintery season”; we are not fully embracing the beauty, wonder and awe of the Mystery of God around and within us. Our culture has systematically dismantled our capacity for awe and wonder by efficiency, technology and greed. But even now if we let God have God’s way, if we dare to see the mystery of the universe, of the human and of God through the heart, we may well be plunged into the Great Mystery of life. Until then, all we can do is to beseech God on our knees saying; “Lord, increase our faith!”

FAITH: THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews gives us a great description of faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Faith is not a thing, it is a relationship. Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth Vol II awakens us to think about faith as an encounter with another dimension. It is not something we put on, or something outside our grasp, it is always with us, always available, when we are open to faith it opens our two dimensional world into 3D, it gives it texture, and depth and contrast. The substance of our world or life does not change, but the opening of this dimension allows us to live the mystery in our everyday activities, in our ordinary lives.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #150 says: Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is

6 a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. Personal adherence is about a relationship, about intimacy that we are called to, it is giving our whole self to God through the person of Jesus Christ.

Faith changes everything, because it allows us to see the truth of God’s love for us, God’s love for the world, for the Cosmos. It opens the dimension where Grace and Love are the foundation of our being in this world. It turns our flat monochrome world into a 3D colour reality with texture, contrast and depth. It is not a dimension outside of our existence. It is not separate from our daily living - it exists and opens up right where we are, shedding its light, inviting us to real living, to open our eyes and see God who has pitched his tent amongst us.

On the way to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-25), the two disciples were speaking of the things that were happening in Jerusalem when a stranger joined them along the way. The stranger engaged them in dialogue concerning the questions and concerns the two disciples were musing over regarding the events in Jerusalem. The disciples saw the facts – or renditions of their Jerusalem experience- from one, single perspective. Their minds were closed to the deeper meaning and truth of the past occurrences. While they did not immediately recognize him as Jesus, he started exactly where they were and opened for them a deeper dimension of faith. Gently Jesus proceeds to discuss and interpret their experience from the perspective of faith. Scripture says: “Their hearts were burning!” They were beginning to encounter a new perspective, disposition and openness to what occurred in Jerusalem. He opened for them a deeper dimension of faith.

In the breaking of the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized the stranger as Jesus. In biblical imagery when our eyes are opened we experience the truth of existence, of God and our own lives. In this text there are at least three dramatic consequences that can assist us. The content of our enquiry of God, or rather the content of faith opens up to this textured full and amazing experience that engages our heart, mind, will and intellect. It is not a new experience; it is seeing the old content through new eyes.

7 1. The encounter with Jesus, which was present before is now recognized as the lynch-pin of the experience. He was on the road with them and they did not see him. It is not that Jesus is not present to us, our eyes are blind, we cannot see with the heart. We cannot see him in the midst of our everyday activities. So like the disciples we moan and complain about the things that are happening not recog- nizing that God is at work and that He is with us.

2. They were filled with courage and ran back to Jerusalem. Prior to this they were running away from Jerusalem filled with fear, ambiguity and doubt. Now they are ready to confess and witness to what they know, what they have experienced with great wonder and joy!

3. This text is a wonderful map for us to understand the subtle move- ment in the opening of the dimension of faith. This is why St. Paul would say: “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor 5:7).

LIVING BY FAITH

Faith is not only for people who lived long ago. There are many people that we know that have great faith stories. To hear them we must open our heart.

When she died Rose Williams was in her late eighties and she had raised over 57 children as her own. She lived in the hills of Maraval in a wooden house that was both humble and full of love. She began adopting children very early in life. Rose never stopped, never looked back, never gave up on a child even when that child was difficult. Rose was a woman of deep faith. Many times she did not know where the next meal would come from, but she knew that God would supply. She did not have a secondary school education yet she was a source of wisdom. She spoke with authority and she lived what she spoke. Her relationship with God was her motivation. It was faith in Christ that led her to the practice of prayer that was foundational for her. It was faith in Christ that gave her courage and led her to change the world. She lived with open eyes and heart to the Great Mystery of God in her life. Her faith strengthened her to believe that she could save one child at a time. Thus, everything changes.

8 In his Apostolic Letter, Door of Faith, 2011 (#10) Pope Benedict says:

“At this point I would like to sketch a path intended to help us understand more profoundly not only the content of the faith, but also the act by which we choose to entrust ourselves fully to God, in complete freedom.”

Faith is essentially entrusting ourselves to Christ. This entrusting of self leads to deeper enquiry about the content of faith and this in turn leads to a more profound entrustment of our selves.

A year and a half before he died, Stanley was given six days to live. A miracle drug that had just come on the market gave him the extra time. He was weak and could not work a full day and so had to give up his job. He had a small business that he put a couple hours a week into; but this was only a sideline. He called his family together and explained the financial situation. His salary was what kept the family going. He said “we will be okay. God will provide for us!” He told them of an account that he opened and called it “God’s account”. They would put 10% of everything received into this account. The family never wanted for anything. Every few months he would call them together and say how much they were giving to a specific charity. He lived by faith and not by sight. The way that God provided was remarkable, it was real. Stanley’s faith opened a dimension of faith for his whole family. They all started to see the world in a different way.

9 Faith is not static. It is dynamic and grows. It is the journey of a lifetime.

YOUCAT: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2010, outlines seven propositions that we need to hold about faith:

1. Faith is a sheer gift of God, which we receive when we fervently ask for it.

2. Faith is the supernatural power that is absolutely necessary if we are to attain salvation.

3. Faith requires the free will and clear understanding of a person when he accepts the divine invitation.

4. Faith is absolutely certain, because Jesus guarantees it.

5. Faith is incomplete unless it leads to active love.

6. Faith grows when we listen more and more carefully to God’s Word and enter a lively exchange with him in prayer.

7. Faith gives us even now a foretaste of the joy of heaven.

Here in these seven points we have the grammar of faith. Faith is not an added extra, it is opening a dimension that is always available to us and requires our free will. Faith is God’s free gift, which leads to action and love and grows as we grow in relationship with Christ.

10 As a priest working in the parish of Gonzales in the foot hills of Laventi- lle, Trinidad and Tobago, January 2003 to December 2006, the gangs had shut down the community through violent murders. An initiative called ‘Pride in Gonzales’ emerged to transform the community through partici- pation using the tools of Urban Planning. At a critical stage the community asked for the police to set up a post. We met senior police officials and community leaders one night. Next morning I got a call from one of the gang leaders. He was not happy that we were bringing the police into the community and he wanted a meeting. Before leaving my office at Rosary Church for the meeting, I told Jenny, my assistant, what was happening. I gave her three numbers to call if something went wrong. I was saying a radio Mass at midday so we had a cut off time. On the way up the hill for the meeting I made peace with God. I knew it was possible that things could go very wrong. But I also believed that I had to do this—there was no other option. We met and spoke frankly in a tense atmosphere. I pushed the gang leader hard, to see why his actions and decisions brought the community to this decision. After about fifteen minutes, which seemed like eternity for me, the climate changed. There was a cooling off and a calm exchange took over that al- lowed me to discuss a number of issues. In the midst of the calmer conversation a car arrived with two of the shoot- ers. One asked the leader, “So you want de ting?” he answered “Nah, is a cool scene”. The other then said “So what to do with it?” The leader said, “Put it in de house.” The shooter reached behind his back and pulled out something and walked away. I did not ask any questions. I continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. Because I had the courage to face him squarely, his respect for me grew that day. I realized if I had not faced him he would have lost respect for me and who knows where that would have led. I had no doubt that I had to go to him. I also knew very clearly what the consequences could be. Through faith in Christ, and my belief that he had called me to this, I found courage. It was both challeng- ing and a great school in Christian faith, hope and love. I learnt to live by faith and experienced the power of prayer.

11 Faith is lived, it is both a believing with the heart and confessing with the lips. Faith is best seen in action. Here the outer action displays the inner conviction. Pope Benedict has said:

“The heart indicates that the first act by which one comes to faith is God’s gift and the action of grace which acts and transforms the person deep within... Confessing with the lips indicates in turn that faith implies public testimony and commitment. A Chris- tian may never think of belief as a private act. Faith is choosing to stand with the Lord so as to live with him. This standing with him points towards an understanding of the reasons for believing. Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes... It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous. Profession of faith is an act both personal and communitarian. It is the Church that is the primary subject of faith. In the faith of the Christian community, each individual receives baptism, an effective sign of entry into the people of believers in order to obtain salvation.” (Doors of Faith #10)

Faith is both an inner light and content that we can believe, articulate and confess. Both dimensions are important, both feed each other. In our tradition we see faith as the first of three theological virtues--Faith, Hope and Love. Faith opens the door to Hope and Love. Without Faith, Hope and Love would be impossible. Faith is the gateway, or door to the dimension that we have been speaking about. Hope gives us the structure for sustain- ing living in this dimension and Love tells us the purpose or activity that is called forth. The three together lived fully is what mature discipleship is about. To believe when all evidence says it is foolishness, to hope when there is no tangible reason and to love when love is rejected, this is what God did for us. It is God’s call for the mature disciple.

To see faith as a virtue means that it is a habit. This means that it can grow and diminish. To grow faith requires the same qualities required for any relationship. It requires time and structure and being present--this we call prayer. When we immerse ourselves into the mystery that God is through prayer, we are transformed, we experience the in-dwelling of the Trinity (Jn 15:1-17). One spiritual writer sees prayer like a log in the fire.At first the fire burns the log on the outside, then the log becomes part of the fire, then the log becomes the fire. The process of being consumed requires

12 faith! So here again we can cry with the disciples: “Lord, increase our faith!”

THE CONTENT OF FAITH

Faith like all living languages has both grammar and vocabulary, both an inner structure and content. In the Early Church the Fathers realized that the specific nature of the Jesus event meant that the Church needed to reg- ulate what the community believed. This happened because people were claiming very strange beliefs that were not witnessed by the tradition the apostles handed down by them. These strange beliefs were called heresy.

Some believed that salvation came from special revealed knowledge (Gnosticism) and not from the encounter with Christ. Some believed that Jesus was a good man, a moral teacher, even better than most men, but not God (Arianism). Others believed that Jesus was truly God, just pretending to be human for our sake (Docetism).

Because of these strange beliefs, the Father’s of the Church first formulated a Creed based on the Apostles preaching, and then later at the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), and amended at Constantinople (381AD) formulated what the Church believes. This Creed we recite every Sunday and when we renew our baptism at Easter. At Baptism the Creed is said on our en- trance into the Community of Faith. “This is our faith; this is the faith of the Church, we are proud to profess it through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The content of these early formulations of the faith cannot be added to or altered. They become the guide and the measure of all content of faith. In an attempt to define and explore the core beliefs for the modern Catholic, Blessed Pope John Paul II, commissioned the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). During this Year of Faith we celebrate the twentieth anni- versary of its publication. This is where we Catholics find the authoritative teaching of our Church. During The Year of Faith I recommend that each person and family spend quality time reflecting on the beauty of the Creed by reading, reflecting and pondering the words of theCatechism of the Catholic Church.

13 Many of us experience the challenge of opening our heart to be surprised by God. The challenge of living by faith as a way of seeking understanding, of believing what the Church believes. In the face of this challenge we can only fall to our knees and cry with the disciples; “Lord, increase our faith!”

14 2. MATURE DISCIPLESHIP

CALLED TO COMMUNITY

One strange belief floating around today is: “I am spiritual but not religious”. In the latest Pew Poll in America, 20% of respondents fit into this growing category. It is the strange idea, a very American one, that Christi- anity is an individual matter and can be lived without any commitment to community. In January 2012 Jefferson Bethke uploaded his spoken word “Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus” to YouTube, by March it had over nineteen million hits. This notion of commitment to Jesus outside orga- nized religion (read community) is the fastest growing error. This is not what the Apostles taught, nor what they passed on to us.

At Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, there were people from all parts of the known world in Jerusalem. They experienced the power of God that led them to baptism. They were incorporated into Christ through baptism becoming part of his Mystical Body, the Church (Cor 12).

From the beginning, the disciples interpreted salvation in Jesus as a communitarian event. Acts 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellow- ship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This is an intense experience of community. It is in the community that the disciples experience transformation as they experience the power of community and as they give themselves generously participating in the Life, Ministry and Mission of the Community the Church. It is through partici- pation that we grow into mature disciples of Christ.

15 St. Paul in the letter to the Romans 12:3-8, deepens this concept of partici- pation and community using the imagery of the human body as a metaphor of the community of believers:

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accor- dance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

For St. Paul we belong to each other in a way that is inseparable. We are interdependent and need the gift of each other if we are all to have the gifts necessary for achieving our full potential. Mature discipleship is in offering these gifts generously to the Community of Faith.

Pope John Paul II has proposed the logic of the gift. “To love is to give yourself.” Only this form of selfless love will bring us to true freedom and happiness. This is the fruit of faith: giving yourself generously to God and the community as a response to the generous love that has firstconsumed you.

As a young woman “T” would put the smallest note or coin that she could find into collection. At Mass one day this was a $20 note. She reached into the basket for change. God began speaking through her prayer about generous giving. After reading scripture and other teachings she decided to give 10% of her earnings to God. After many years of living stewardship she heard of a person who gave 90% and lived of 10% of their salary. She wrestled with God but began giving 20% of her income. She renovated her house without a loan; she studied in Jamaica for one year and gave 20% of her student stipend. She has never lacked or wanted. She continually experiences the blessings of God. In her testimony of living by faith, she recognized that stewardship grew her faith and her relationship with God. Her generous giving transformed her into a woman of generosity and mature discipleship. “T” believes that she has received much more than she has given.

16 CALLED TO LOVE IN SERVICE

Let us reflect on the collective aspirations of the two dioceses: what emerged has to be the fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in our Church. Both dioceses saw ‘Communion’ as the number one pastoral priority with ‘Stewardship’ as the second. We desire our experience of Church to be one of a living faith community. We desire to give ourselves in love to one another and to participate in the life of our Church bringing our talents and gifts in service of others (Jn 13:14).

This unfortunately is not currently our model of Church for many of us. As I look at our Church I see Catholics very generous with their time, talent and treasure; giving beyond the call of duty. However, there are others who operate with what I would call the “Gas Station Model”. We want to enter as quickly as possible, fill up and leave as quickly as possible. We act as if Church is a necessary evil that we need to endure and so we must minimize our time and its demand on our life. To think this way is to miss the joy and beauty of living the faith. Others again see the Church as “Celestial Insurance”. They seek to pay out as little as possible and ensure benefits as much as possible. They pay now “just in case” there is a God, “just in case” there is hell, “just in case”...... Like any insurance it is not paid joyfully. It is a matter of managing risk and future uncertainty. This is not living by faith.

Having reflected upon our collective aspirations, I see what is being proposed as - Church as the family of God. In this family our deepest concern is reaching and serving those in the circle outside our own. The service that we humbly offer is first living with integrity and ultimately offering ourselves generously to God. This is living by faith and not by sight. To move from where we are now, to a new way of being Church requires that we trust the Holy Spirit who has spoken to us through our collective aspirations. We trust that if God calls, God will empower and give us the Grace. This is why, with the apostles, we cry out: “Lord, increase our faith!”

17 CALLED TO SACRIFICE

St. Paul writing to the Romans says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).

This passage opens for us a deeper enquiry in our exploration of faith. What do we offer God? Our minds? Thoughts? Emotions? One hour on a Sunday? A quick prayer every day? Grovelling when we are in trouble?

This is the offering of the child in the faith. St. Paul is urging his Church to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice. God wants nothing less than everything. He wants our all. What does it mean to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice? This requires us to offer our mind, our intellect, our will and our emotions also. This text challenges us beyond the minimalist offering we have been giving. This means a commitment to chastity and purity of body and heart.

To live this is to recognize that the patterns of our culture have been infect- ed by the very strong currents of hedonism being promoted by the North. We are thinking the way we are and making the choices we make, because we are not open to the transformation of our mind that St. Paul proposes to us. We are choosing for pleasure, money and power before choosing for Christ. Our culture worships at the altar of pleasure. It has been deformed by this worship. Our cultural celebrations that have always been sensual have now become vulgar. We have stopped teaching ourselves and our young people self-restraint. We teach that acting on every impulse of our bodies is desirable. There is a little maxim that we will have to learn and learn to live: “Sacrifice your pleasures and take pleasure in your sacrifice.”

A sacrifice is giving up something good, for something that is better. It is a very positive action. The word “sacrifice” –sacra facere – means “to do the holy, or sacred thing!” It is tied to the Divine call and will. During Lent we ask that everyone makes sacrifices. This is to strengthen us to live generously and courageously for God. We ask our people to give up

18 certain pleasures till marriage. This is a sacrifice; it is giving up something good. What we get however is the possibility of a real relationship built on genuine love. We also get the possibility of remaining faithful in marriage. Without sacrifice we become hedonistic. This unfortunately is where we are heading. Look at any sitcom, or listen to the lyrics of the music of the young. We now have a value system where sacrifice is a bad word.

Without sacrifice we cannot offer ourselves to God. We will simply conform to the spirit of this age. We will not be transformed by the renewal of our minds and we will not come to know the will of God. Our living will continue to be shallow, fragile and bankrupt. Seeking pleasure as the highest good, particularly greed, was the deep cause of the breakdown of values in our society, the destabilization of the family and ultimately the reason for the collapse of the global finance system in 2008. These big events of history come right down to our everyday choices; either to seek pleasure as our highest good, or to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. This is the dynamic that either transforms faith into a culture that is life- giving, or moves civilization along the slippery path to hedonism. We are all involved every day in the outcome of this great drama. It occurs in our families, our schools, our workplaces, in our nations. It is most fundamentally in our consciences and in our bodies. We have hard choices to make. When we really understand what is at stake, we must, like the disciples fall to our knees and pray: “Lord, increase our faith!”

CALLED TO RESPOND

To live by faith is to believe that we have been called into this world by God. This call is integral to our DNA and our psychological makeup. This call is the defining experience of our existence. Answering this call is a response to Grace.

* There are four levels of vocation that I would explore. We need to respond to the call at each level.

* The way God called us from the womb (personal/internal)

* Our life vocation- -priest, mother father, doctor, teacher, farmer, butcher, domestic worker etc. (external)

19 * The call of God to us in each moment

* The call of God to his Church

At each level discerning the Will of God is critical. Our personal or primary vocation is the way God called us. At the moment of our conception, God spoke our name and called us forth into life. We have been loved before we were conscious, and before our parents knew we existed. This love proposes to us a path throughout life that allows our unique gifts and talents to be used for good and allows us to become the best we can be. With free will we could choose to live differently, to live for pleasure and prestige and power and wealth. This is always our choice. When we use our talents for the Good, we align our lives with God’s purpose. This is Grace, or living by Grace. Our contribution is always more than the sum of our actions. This is the essential ingredient to living the happy and blessed life. We discern this call by the patterns that recur in our life.

I have always found myself caught between very different peoples or ways of thinking or opposing sides. Upon reflection on this I realized that this is how God knows me. I am a bridge. I span chasms that seem impossible to cross. I hold things together that do not seem easy to hold or fit. My Episcopal cross, one child said to me, looks like two paper clips. I calmly asked him what do paper clips do”? He said “they hold paper together”. I said, “that is right. Now what do you think a bishop does?” His face lit up as he said tentatively, “hold things together”? Yes, my personal vocation has led me to my (external) vocation - being a priest and a bishop. It also informs how I have lived these vocations, the ministry focus that I have had and the life choices that I have made.

On the third level, the call of God is to us in each moment; this is where the “rubber hits the road”. Tradition teaches us: the voice of conscience is the voice of God. In each moment we are posed with choices to be made. Some are small and others are big! Some, because they begin a series of choices, lead us to a specific direction. Think of any habit you now have that you want to change. Think of the place and time when it began. Track all the decisions that led you to today. You will recognize many times when God was speaking in your conscience and when you chose to listen or not listen to God’s voice. To live by faith is to live by God’s voice and will. This is to listen to our conscience and follow its direction. This too is a call! In fact, it is at this level that we are most deeply opened to con-

20 version. Here we have the opportunity to turn the direction of our life in the first two levels to our true vocation. To make a habit of following our conscience is to become a person of virtue. Not to, is at best to be unavail- able or indifferent to God.

To see this perspective is to understand that spirituality is not for one hour on Sunday morning. It is alive and working every day, shaping our lives whether we know or like it. St. Ignatius would speak about “finding God in all things”. This is why we need to have a way of praying that gives us the wisdom to hear God’s voice in the cacophony of all the compet- ing voices calling to us. Living by faith is being open in each moment of each day to the voice of God and being ready to respond to it in freedom and love. It is at this level that we are plunged into the Great Mystery. The ordinariness of our lives, the encounters and experiences of our day - every facet is an invitation to experience and live the Great Mystery; to give ourselves generously, each moment of every day to Christ!

On the final (4th) level of vocation, the vocation of the Church. Pope Benedict XVI has reaffirmed the teaching of his predecessor Pope Paul VI: “Authentic Integral Human Development is the Vocation of the Church” (Caritas in Veritate 1&16). This is the development of each person, every person, all people and every dimension of the person. Development for Pope Paul VI is “the new name for Peace”. Peace being “Shalom” or the restoration of right relationship with God, neighbour, creation and self.

That development as a vocation opens for Catholics a new point of refer- ence. Faith, a gift from God is now seen as God’s call to us; our response to this call should at the very least make us decent human beings and ultimately should make us Saints. We are expected to become the best that we can possibly be. We are expected to grow emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and in knowledge of our bodies. More than this we are called by God to work tirelessly for this growth in all people, especially those most on the margins of society. This is why the Catholic Church is involved in so many programmes of development—schools, orphanages, work with the poor, soup kitchens, work with AIDS patients, those in hospital, etc.

...the whole Church, in all her being and acting – when she proclaims, when she celebrates, when she performs works of charity – is engaged in promoting integral human development (Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate, 2009 # 11).

21 Some of our Catholic faithful are not developing in all facets of their life. They are not growing into the best that they can be. Our young people often leave the Church because their parents and elders are not growing, are not on a path of development. As Church, we can only be faithful to Christ when we ensure that we are all growing in every dimension of our existence.

In a very important Encyclical, Populorum Progressio (PP), On the Devel- opment of Peoples, 1967, Pope Paul VI defined integral human development as the development of all people, every person and every dimension of the human person. He gave us a continuum of development from less human to most human. In charting the stages of development, Pope Paul VI (PP #21) sees less human conditions as:

* The lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essentials for life,

* The moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness.

* Oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions.

More human conditions are

* the passage from misery towards the possession of necessities,

* victory over social scourges,

* the growth of knowledge, the acquisition of culture.

* increased esteem for the dignity of others,

* the turning toward the spirit of poverty, co-operation for the common good, the will and desire for peace.

Even more human conditions are

* The acknowledgment by man of supreme values, and of God their source and their finality.

22 * Faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ, who calls us all to share as sons and daughters in the life of the living God, the Father of all men.

Development is authentic when it includes each dimension and in our secular world, especially the spiritual dimension. It is integral when all the dimensions are growing together. Spirituality has now been given a new depth. It involves becoming the best we can be in answer to the Call of the Trinity—the Father who called us into being, Jesus Christ who died to set us free and the loving action of the Holy Spirit-- who continually works in our lives transforming us to achieve the full potential that God has intended for his sons and daughters.

An important part of responding to this call to development is how we treat “The Other”. The Other is the one not like me, who looks and acts and thinks differently. We may share humanity, but suspicion and prejudice blinds us to the mystery of The Other. In our region dismantling prejudice based on class, creed, gender and ethnicity remains a significant developmental challenge for the Church. Difference does not mean more or less human. Matthew 25: 31-40 reminds us that the face of Christ is seen in the face of those in need.

Humanity’s treatment of The Other and the treatment of the Creation are often parallel. Civilizations that have a profound respect for The Other also have practices that enshrine a profound respect for the creation. Just as we cannot treat humans as a means towards an end, neither can we treat the Creation as an expendable resource to fuel our lifestyle. It was created by God and seen by him as good (Gen 1:31). In the 2005 document of the AEC Bishops: “Caring for the Earth – our responsibility” the Bishops outline the challenges we face in the Caribbean in being good stewards of creation. They also provide us a way forward towards seeing the Creation as an integral part of the Divine plan.

To live by faith requires us treating others and the Creation with great respect. This involves hearing and answering God’s call in my life. Seeing this vision of Christianity and seeing where we are individually and as a Church all we can say is “Lord, increase our faith!”

23 3. LIVING THE MYSTERY

THE LIFE OF FAITH

Our Church has given us many spiritual practices. To live by faith is to enter the vineyard. If Grace is the most precious gift, then Faith operates in the space between the gift and the response. First having faith in the Giver; then faith in the Gift that it is precious; and then faith in ourselves that we can respond. Between Gift and response, Faith is. It is not static, it can increase or decrease. It can become more relevant or irrelevant to the way we live our lives.

To live by faith is to enter through the four gates into the heart of the vineyard – Prayer, reconciliation, gratitude and hospitality (see Bishop Gordon Life of Grace pastoral letter 2011). It is to live prayer as a way of being, to be a person of reconciliation, to make gratitude our attitude of life, becoming a person of hospitality. It is to live the mystery that life is and to see in every face, the face of Christ.

We cannot live, and make our journey to the vineyard without faith. This is why we besiege God: “Lord, increase our faith!”

It is here that God has the answer: “if your faith were the size of a mustard seed...” We do not need much of it; but we do need it. A little bit is suf- ficient if it is used...”you would say to the mulberry tree” (Lk 17:6). Faith is not a possession; it is only valuable in action, in acting upon or presum- ing it. We would like to possess faith and then to act. It is the opposite. We need to step out of our comfort, and venture into belief in God and what God called us to. The addicts have a saying: “you have to fake it till you make it”. This is how we grow, by venturing out of our comfort and acting as God would have us.

Faith is only faith when we are pushed beyond the limits of our tolerance. So whenever we are content, and safe and secure, we are not living by faith. To trust God in something so bold that if God does not come through it could only be certain failure. It is to act knowing that our action is irrational by our senses, but rational through the eyes of faith.

This requires living by walking through our four gates – prayer, reconciliation, gratitude and hospitality. This requires faith it will also build or increase our faith.

24 MARY MODEL OF FAITH

We look at Mary and we see the amazing woman of faith that she is. We see the unique role that God asked her to play in salvation history. We see the teaching of the Church about her place in the Church and in God’s plan for redemption. This is looking at Mary’s life after the fact of the Resurrection. When we follow her life in real time a very different image emerges. Not the magnificence of her splendour and Grace, but rather the dark night that she lived in her role as Mother of the Saviour.

When the angel asked Mary if she would conceive and give birth to a Son, what was being asked was whether she was prepared to trust God with all of her life. If Joseph had disowned her publicly the result would have been stoning to death. Mary would have been keenly aware of this. So from the beginning of this amazing journey in faith, Mary placed her whole life in the hands of God. Because she knew God, she trusted what He asked; because she trusted what he asked she came to know God in a deeper way. This is “faith seeking understanding”.

Consider for a moment what Mary must have thought through her nine months of pregnancy, what the encounter with Elizabeth meant for her and finally the birth of Jesus. Each of these events which St. Luke records of- fers us a keen insight into the depth and openness of Mary’s faith. She was a woman of God, the selfless one, a faithful servant of Yahweh. Consider further Mary’s encounter with the prophecy of Simeon in the temple. Simeon’s prophecy to Mary was that her child was to be a sign rejected and that a sword would pierce her soul (Lk. 2:34). What must have been passing through her mind and heart in receiving this message?

Consider Mary’s confusion during the flight to Egypt; as she tried to escape Herod who wanted to kill the child! Her heart was pierced with the mystery of the powerlessness of God. That God would see this and not strike down Herod, but rather let him murder the innocent while the Son of God fled like a refugee or criminal. Here in this moment of her journey, Mary confronted the incomprehensible mystery of God; the darkness that faith is; the terrible agony and ecstasy of those who give themselves completely to God. The self-emptying of God (Phil 2:6-11) is not simply a condition of the incarnation; it may well be more fundamentally, a glimpse into the inner working of the Trinity—God who chooses humility and powerlessness to give us freedom.

25 When the news of the innocent children reached Mary in Egypt, how did she hold this too in her broken heart? Children slaughtered because the ty- rant could not find the true Son; her son safe while hundreds die.This was the first glimpse of the destiny of Christ and his followers. All of this was held in Mary’s heart. The sword was piercing, and wounding and opening the heart of Mary till it could be opened enough to embrace all of us.

Faith is only faith when we are pushed to the limits of our understanding. Mary was pushed again when they lost Jesus in Jerusalem at twelve years old. Could you imagine what it would have been like to lose God’s son? Imagine the emotions that must have consumed them as they retraced their steps and asked everyone for him. Woman of faith, yes, but faith is not prestige and honour, it is allowing yourself to fall into the hands of the living God. It is being carried where you would rather not go.

During his ministry several times we read that the Mother of Jesus was there to see him and he would not go to her. “Who is my mother?” (Mt.12: 46–50). Now you mothers look again at this woman and see in her the pure gift of Grace. Mary’s selflessness walks a journey she does not understand; Mary walks because she believes, she believes because she walks.

During the trial and the cross of Jesus, what was in her heart? How did she reconcile the experience of the annunciation and the rejection of her son, God’s son? Only Mary knew the truth of his birth, and this truth would not have been any consolation. The two mysteries, his birth and rejection would have been too much for anyone to hold, yet the scriptures say of Mary that she pondered these mysteries in her heart (Lk. 2:19). To see your son die an innocent death is beyond words and grief. To also know that he is truly God’s Son is more than any heart could take.

Mary held him in this broken and battered state on the way to Golgotha. She knew that he was the promised one; the one the prophets spoke about; the one she had in her womb for nine months, the one the angels, the Wise men and shepherds came to see. Now we get a glimpse of faith, pushed beyond the limits of understanding. What Mary lived, the mystery she pondered and held could only have plunged her into the mystery of the dark night of faith. She walked by faith and not by sight. She trusted God even when she could not see her way and when she did not understand where He was leading.

At the foot of the cross, Jesus makes an exchange-- the son of God for a mere mortal (Jn 19:25-27) “mother behold your son, son behold your

26 mother”. This is the final anguish, and yet Mary makes her home in his. In this Gospel this disciple is simply called the “beloved disciple” or the disciple Jesus loves - That is you. It is the one who seeks Jesus out, the one who wants to live with him. In the Gospel the author leaves this space for each beloved disciple of each generation to stand in this space in the text. Here the exchange between the “woman” (read the new Eve) and the beloved disciple (now the son) speaks to the fruitfulness of the Church. It also speaks of Mary’s role in the life of the beloved disciple.

Making a place for Mary in our home is the command of Jesus. Modern Christians may not see this as either relevant or desirable. Without openness to wonder, awe and mystery, the invitation to bring Mary into our lives may seem meaningless. This, too, requires us to say with the disciples: “Lord, increase our faith!”

EPILOGUE: HERE I STAND

If we are honest, our first crossroad is, whether God exists or not?We could choose not to believe, many have! But the mystery of the Universe and of my body and of the atom or fractal asks a question of conscious- ness. Why does music exist? Or beauty? Why do humans have the capacity to transcend themselves? To develop and grow civilization, art, culture? To reflect honestly on “all that there is” raises more questions than answers. To choose the path that God exists, leads to other crossroads: Is God relevant to my existence? Is God irrelevant, capricious, or whimsical? Can we know God? What does knowing God contribute to our living? All of these lead us to the most fundamental question: has God revealed God’s self to us humans or not? If we believe not, we live as best we could, seeking to construct meaning out of the universe.

To believe that God has revealed God’s self is to believe that there is a reason for my being and to believe there is a call for my life. It is to believe that we can know God. It is ultimately to believe that Jesus is in a unique way God’s Son and that through his live, death and resurrection he invites us to be his sons and daughters. To believe this is to believe that God is love! Now we come to the fundamental choice. If we believe this, we must also believe that love is the only logic of the universe, that all is motivated and has its being through the logic of love. Yes, Love! Not the economy, or strife, or class conflict or sex or power! LOVE!

Love requires freedom! It requires a being that has freedom as a capacity. To be created for love is to be created with freedom. This means to be cre-

27 ated to accept or reject God. To live our life as an answer to God’s call or to reject that call. To live as a decent human being or to live a random life, choosing power, wealth or pleasure as the highest good.

What is not rational is to believe in God, and to live as if power, wealth or pleasure is the highest good. This is not only irrational; it is intellectually and spiritually dishonest. The Prophets called this idolatry.

So here we stand, at the threshold of this new millennium. At the beginning of our journey together as a diocese – with a choice to use our freedom to move beyond the chasm we have created between our faith and our life. To move beyond the irrationality of our constructed concept of God and face God— that all encompassing Mystery that wants every aspect of our existence. If we belong to God we cannot live as we please. If we believe in God, let our whole existence radiate this. Let our life proclaim it, not by words, but by the integrity of our living, our whole life as an answer to God’s call on the four levels of vocation. Here, spirituality and mission, vocation and discipleship come together. For this, we must live with generosity and conviction. For “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1Jn4:16).

As we face the monumental challenge of living mature discipleship in the Dioceses of Bridgetown and Kingstown today, I pray, through the interces- sion of Mary that God would grant us the Grace to honestly reflect upon what we believe. May God open our hearts to be surprised by the mystery within and around us and give us the courage to respond to His call in every dimension of our everyday lives.

I pray with St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:14-21).

28 4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH

In January 2012 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, published a small document: Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith. It gives recommendations for celebrating the Year of Faith at different levels of the Church. Based on their recommendations the clergy and people in ministry have reflected and designed a pastoral plan for the diocese and the parish. I am listing some recommendations. I propose that you consider choosing two or three to make your own pastoral plan for the Year of Faith as individuals and as a family. During this year let us do something concretely to strengthen and deepen our faith.

* Set your cell phone to alarm at 6.00 a.m., 12:00 noon and 6.00 p.m. to say the Angelus each day.

* Learn the Creed and read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Creed.

* Pray the Family Rosary every week.

* Make Sunday Mass ‘a must.’

* Frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

* Attend any of the Special diocesan retreats planned for the faithful of the diocese during the year of faith.

* Make a Pilgrimage and receive a Plenary Indulgence in one of the designated churches in your diocese.

* “Sacrifice your pleasures and take pleasure in your sacrifice.” During this year of faith cut back on our consumption; of food, alcohol, cell and internet use, electricity, water. Become more conscious of our carbon footprint by recycling garbage. Be more present to those at home.

* Befriend a poor person or family

* Make a commitment to Stewardship of time, talent and treasure.

29 Read and Study the following documents individually, in groups, in families and in parishes:-

1. The Bishop’s Pastoral Letter: ‘Lord increase our faith’

2. The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Especially sections on Faith, the Eucharist, Mary, Corporal Works of Mercy

3. The Documents of Vatican II, especially Dei Verbum (The Word of God) and Sacrosanctum Concilium (The Sacred Liturgy)

4. The Bible, especially the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel for Year C

5. Archbishop Gilbert’s Go Teach: A Selection of Archbishop Edward Gilbert’s Writings 2001 – 2011: Read sections II on Prayer and III on The Creed. These sections highlight the Catechism of the Catholic Church and are a good way to deepen your reflection on the faith.

6. Read the lives of the Saints

Yours in Christ,

+ Charles Jason Gordon, Bishop of Bridgetown and Kingstown

October 7Th, O n The feast of the Holy Rosary